Universal dispensing apparatus for stacked articles

ABSTRACT

A dispensing device is provided for dispensing a plurality of articles such as cigarette boxes. The device includes two levels of individual dispensing modules. Each dispensing module includes a plurality of vertical stack holders mounted on a support plate having an open center. A dispensing mechanism selectively withdraws an article from one of the stack holders and conveys the article to the open center such that the article drops through the open center for conveyance to a final destination. The dispensing mechanism includes a shuttle plate also having an open center and a mechanism for moving the shuttle plate beneath the support plate for the vertical stack holders. One or more solenoid-activated engagement pins on the shuttle plate selectively engage one or more of the articles held in the stack holders such that, as the shuttle plate moves, the engaged article or articles moves with the shuttle plate. The individual modules are arranged in two levels such that the open centers of top and bottom level modules are aligned to thereby allow articles dispensed from top level modules to fall through the open center of a corresponding bottom level module.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention is directed to dispensers and in particular to adispensing apparatus for efficiently dispensing a plurality of articleswhich are arranged in stacks and can be of different sizes and shapes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Numerous devices are provided in the prior art for dispensing aplurality of articles. Patented examples include U.S. Pat. No. 4,032,039(Schuller) and U.S. Pat. No. 3,819,087 (Schuller, et al). The Schuller'039 patent provides an article dispensing apparatus wherein two banksof article dispensers feed to a common drop space in a housing. Eachbank comprises a plurality of dispensers arranged in stackedrelationship, the dispensers serving to feed articles to the commonspace. The Schuller et al '087 patent provides an article dispensingapparatus comprising a plurality of banks of columns adapted to containstacks of cigarette packs to be vended. The lowermost pack of the stackof each column is ejected by a carriage movable beneath the banks andcarrying a plurality of ejectors.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the invention, a dispensing apparatus is provided forefficiently dispensing a plurality of articles, such as cigarette packsand cartons. The apparatus comprises a plurality of dispensing moduleseach including a horizontally extending support plate having an opencenter at least as large as the largest of the articles to be dispensed,a plurality of generally vertical stack holders disposed on the supportplate each holding a stack of the articles, and dispensing means forselectively withdrawing articles from the stack holders and conveying awithdrawn article to the open center of the support plate such that thearticle drops through the open centers of the support plate forsubsequent conveyance to a final destination.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment, a plurality of articleholders are arranged in a row on at least one side of the support plate.The article holders comprise replaceable modules open at the top topermit the filling thereof and open at the bottom to enable an articleto be withdrawn therefrom.

The dispensing means preferably comprises a shuttle plate disposedbelow, and parallel to the support plate, wherein the shuttle plate hasan open center at least as large as the largest of the articles, shuttleplate movement means for moving the shuttle plate in a plane parallel tothe support plate, and engagement means on the shuttle plate forengaging the articles in the stack holders. The engagement meansadvantageously comprises a drive arm connected to the support plate andsolenoid means connecting the shuttle plate to the support plate forextending and retracting the drive arm to provide movement of theshuttle plate laterally, i.e., back and forth.

Preferably the support plate further includes a plurality of slotsextending in parallel outward from the open center of the support plateand the engagement means further comprises a plurality of selectivelyactivated, projectable pins each associated with a solenoid or otheractivator for, when activated, projecting upward from the shuttle platethrough the slots of the support plate to engage the articles in thestack holders.

The dispensing apparatus preferably comprises a plurality of dispensingmodules arranged on a plurality of levels such that the open centers ofmodules on different levels are aligned. Thus, articles dispensed fromupper level modules fall through the corresponding open center of alower level modules.

As will appear, the invention provides an efficient and compact systemfor dispensing a wide variety of individual items. In this latterregard, in an exemplary embodiment, 320 articles of different brands canbe dispensed.

Other features and advantages of the invention will be set further in,or be readily apparent from the detailed description of the preferredembodiments which follows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a dispensing apparatus inaccordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the embodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of one dispensing module of theembodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a partially exploded, partially assembly perspective explodedview of one dispensing module similar to that of FIG. 1 but employing astack holder corresponding to an alternative embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the dispensing module of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the dispensing module of FIG. 3 with analternative embodiment of the engagement pins.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIGS. 1-6, a preferred embodiment of the present inventionwill now be described. The dispensing apparatus includes a box-shapedframe or housing 3 for enclosing and supporting upper and lower groupsof individual dispensing modules which are, as shown in FIG. 1,generally denoted 6a and 6b, respectively. Each individual dispensingmodule 6a and 6b is capable of dispensing a plurality of articlesthrough a corresponding center opening 11a or 11b formed in the bottomof the corresponding module is explained below.

Considering the two levels of dispensing modules are provided withinframe 3, in an exemplary embodiment, sixteen top level modules 6a andsixteen bottom level modules 6b are provided in stacked relation, withFIG. 2 showing the manner in which the sixteen modules 6a of the toplevel are arranged in a 4×4 pattern or array.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the upper or top level modules 6a and thelower or bottom level modules 6b are aligned, i.e., offset such that thecenter openings 11b of bottom level modules 6b are directly below thecenter openings 11a of the top level modules 6a. Therefore, articlesdispensed from a top level module 6a fall through the center opening ofthe corresponding bottom level module 6b.

Each upper level module 6a further includes a guide or director assemblygenerally denoted 2 including a pair of angled plates positioned todirect articles (dispensed from a top level module 6a) to the center ofthe corresponding bottom level module 6b. After falling through thecenter opening of a bottom level module 6a, an article is furtherdirected by a funnel 4 disposed below bottom modules 6b to a chute 5positioned below chute 4.

Different devices such as, for example, a conveyor belt, (not shown) canbe employed to convey the article from the bottom of chute 5 to a finaldestination (not shown). Preferably, chute 5 is so constructed as toinsure that dispensed articles gravitate toward the bottom of chute 5.For instance, an air cushion (not shown) or a low friction coating (notshown) can be employed to assist the travel of the articles down chute5. In addition, a vibration device (not shown) can be provided forvibrating chute 5 to thereby reduce friction between a dispensed articleand the surface of chute 5.

The dispensing apparatus can be floor or ceiling mounted according tothe needs of the user with conventional conveyor methods being used toprovide further item movement and distribution.

The dispenser modules 6a and 6b are generally the same and, theconstruction of a typical representative module is shown in FIGS. 3-5,and is simply denoted 6 in these figures. Module 6 comprises ahorizontal generally rectangular support plate 10 having an open centeror central opening 11 corresponding to openings 11a and 11b discussedabove. The open center 11 is likewise rectangular and is defined byoutwardly extending edges of support plate 10. Brace members 8a and 8bextend vertically along opposing exterior edges of support plate 10 asshown. Engagement slots, generally denoted 15, extend outwardly inparallel from open center 11 to the bottom of braces 8a and 8b. Verticalslots, generally denoted 30, extend in parallel from a position slightlyabove the bottom edges of braces 8a and 8b to the top edges of braces 8aand 8b.

A plurality of generally vertical stack holders, denoted 12, aredisposed along both sides of open center 11 on support plate 10 forholding stacks of articles, with one vertical stack holder 12corresponding to each slot 15. In an exemplary embodiment, five stackholders are provided on each side of open center 11, although forpurposes of clarity, only the five stack holders on one side of plate 10are shown in FIG. 3, i.e., the five stack holders on the other side ofplate 10 have been omitted from FIG. 3. Each vertical stack holder 12has a generally rectangular cross section matched to the shape ofarticles to be dispensed. In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 3,the stack holders are adapted to hold standard size cigarette packs. Itwill be appreciated that, in general, the stack holders 12 can holdarticles of any size or shape and in an alternative embodiment shown inFIG. 4, one of the stack holders, denoted 12', is adapted to hold apackage larger than a cigarette pack such as a film or cosmetic package.As is also shown in FIG. 4, each stack holder 12 includes a pair ofvertically spaced headed projections 32 for engaging a correspondingvertical slot 30 such that stack holders 12 are, in use, secured tosupport plate 10 by the engagement between projections 32 and slots 30.

Returning to FIG. 3, support plate 10 further includes two rows oflower, inwardly turned rims 14a, 14b and 14c, 14d which are formed in,and depend from two opposing edges of the support plate. A shuttle plate16 is disposed below, and parallel to, support plate 10 such thatopposing edges of shuttle plate 16 are supported and secured bydepending rims 14a-14d. Shuttle plate 16 further includes spaced pairsof low-friction engagement members 17a, 17b and 17c, 17d for engagingthe interior side surfaces of rims 14a, 14b and 14c, 14d, respectfully.With this arrangement, shuttle plate 16 is capable of back and forthmovement in a plane parallel to, and immediately below, support plate 10as shown by doubled headed arrow A of FIG. 3. Shuttle plate 16 isshorter than support plate 10 in the direction of motion of shuttleplate 16 such that shuttle plate 16 moves laterally with respect tosupport plate 10 without projecting substantially beyond the edges ofsupport plate 10 as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6.

Shuttle plate 16 further includes a rectangular open center or centralopening 13 defined by inwardly extending edges of shuttle plate 16. Thesize of center opening 13 is sufficiently large such that open center 11of support plate 10 is not obstructed by shuttle plate 16 as shuttleplate 16 moves back and forth beneath support plate 10.

A drive unit or mechanism 18, connected to the underside of shuttleplate 16 and supported by the underside of support plate 10, is providedfor moving shuttle plate 16 with respect to support plate 10. Drive unit18 can comprise any conventional mechanism for imparting back and forthmotion and in the illustrated embodiment comprises an electric linearactuator 21 comprising a conventional motor and ball screw assemblywhich controls extension and contraction of a drive arm 19 connected toshuttle plate 16. Alternatively, linear actuator 21 can be pneumatic orhydraulic rather than electric.

A plurality of engagement actuators, generally denoted 20, are providedon shuttle plate 16 with one engagement actuator corresponding to eachvertical stack 12. As is shown most clearly in FIG. 6, each engagementactuator 20 controls movement of a corresponding engagement pin 22 whichis normally biased by a spring 23 into the inoperative position thereofand which, in the operative or actuated position thereof, i.e., whenactuated by actuator 20, protrudes, as shown in dashed lines in FIG. 6,vertically through a corresponding engagement slot 15 (FIG. 3).Engagement actuator 20 can comprise any conventional mechanism, such asa solenoid, for controlling protruding and retracting of pin 22. It willbe noted that the engagement or extractor pins 22 are positionedsomewhat differently in FIG. 3 and FIG. 6. The important considerationregarding the placement of pins 22 is that they be positioned justbehind, i.e., out of the way of, the article so that there is nointerference with the pin movement when the pin 22 is in the "up"position.

In operation, drive unit 18 moves shuttle plate 16 laterally such thatengagement pin 22 lies directly below and to the outside of the outsideedge of an article A to be dispensed held at the bottom of a stackholder 12 as shown in FIG. 6. When activated, the correspondingengagement actuator 20 causes engagement pin 22 to protrude vertically,as shown in dashed lines in FIG. 6, and engage the outside edge of thelowest article within vertical support stack 12. Drive 18 then movesshuttle plate 16 toward the center of support plate 10. As shuttle plate10 moves laterally, engagement pin 22 draws the article A along withshuttle plate 10 so that the article A follows the ejection path shownin FIG. 6. In this manner, the article A is drawn from vertical stack12, and then drops through open center 11 and open center 13. For alarge article, such as a cigarette carton, all engagement pins 22located adjacent to the article would be activated to simultaneouslyengage the article such that, as shuttle plate 10 moves laterally, thearticle is reliably dispensed. The use of several adjacent engagementpins 22 in providing movement of a large article prevents the articlefrom becoming jammed in vertical support stack 12. Also, severaldifferent articles can be dispensed at one time by simultaneouslyactivating the corresponding engagement pins 22. Of course, this assumesthat the articles to be simultaneously dispensed are not disposed onopposing sides of module 6.

Each dispensing module 6 is electronically controlled via amicro-processor control (shown schematically at 30 in FIG. 1) forselection and dispensing. The selection of a particular item isaccomplished by a conventional means such as a keyboard, a keypad, touchpanel, or bar code input (not shown). Controller 30 determines therequired engagement pin 22 corresponding to a user selected article andexecutes the selection thereof. Microprocessor control 30 is ofconventional design and the selection process is straight-forward. Inaddition to controlling the selection of articles, microprocessorcontrol 30 can also maintain accounting information concerning thenumbers and types of articles previously dispensed.

In an alternative embodiment (not shown), sensors are provided in eachmodule 6 to determine inventory, verify item ejection, sense itemsremaining in a stack or provide any other information necessary toefficiently monitor the inventory and performance of the dispensingapparatus.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, stack holders 12 are removable andreplaceable on support plate 10 by the projections 32 received invertical slots 23. In use, as the contents of the stack holders aredispensed, stack holders 12 are removed and replaced with refilled stackholders.

Although the invention has been described with respect to exemplaryembodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the artthat variations and modifications can be effected in these exemplaryembodiments without departing from the scope and spirit of theinvention.

I claim:
 1. A dispensing module for dispensing a plurality of articles,said module comprising:a generally horizontally extending support platehaving a central opening at least as large as the largest of thearticles to be dispensed, a plurality of generally vertically extendingarticle holders disposed on said support plate for holding a stack ofsaid articles such that the lowermost articles of the stack aresupported by a support portion of the support, and dispensing means forselectively withdrawing articles from said article holders and forconveying articles withdrawn from said article holder relative to saidsupport plate such that a withdrawn article drops through said centralopening of said support plate to thereby be dispensed, said dispensingmeans comprising a shuttle plate disposed below, and parallel to, saidsupport plate and having a central opening therein at least as large asthe largest of said articles, shuttle plate movement means for movingsaid shuttle plate in a plane generally parallel with said supportplate, and engagement means on said shuttle plate for selectivelyengaging said articles in said stack holders such that movement of saidshuttle plate by said movement means causes an article engaged by saidengagement means to be conveyed from said support portion of saidsupport plate to said central opening of said support plate fordispensing therethrough.
 2. The dispensing module of claim 1, whereinsaid article holders are disposed on opposite sides of said supportplate.
 3. The dispensing module of claim 2, wherein a plurality of saidarticle holders are arranged in a row on at least one side of saidsupport plate.
 4. The dispensing module of claim 1, wherein said articleholders comprise replaceable modules open at the top to permit fillingthereof and open at the bottom to enable an article to be withdrawntherefrom.
 5. The dispensing module of claim 1, wherein said supportportion of said support plate includes a plurality of slots extending inparallel from said central opening of said support plate, andsaidengagement means comprises a plurality of selectively movable pins eachof which when moved to operation position thereof, projects upwardlyfrom said shuttle plate through a said slot of said support plate toengage a said article in a said stack holder.
 6. The dispensing moduleof claim 5, wherein said engagement means further comprises solenoidmeans connected to said pins for, when activated, causing said pins toproject upwardly from said shuttle plate.
 7. The dispensing module ofclaim 1, wherein said movement means comprises an electric linearactuator means, mounted on said support plate and including a drive armconnected to said shuttle plate, for extending and retracting said drivearm to thereby move said shuttle plate back and forth beneath saidsupport plate.
 8. A dispensing module for dispensing a plurality ofarticles comprising:a plurality of generally vertical stack holders forholding a plurality of articles to be dispensed in stacks; a supportplate for supporting said stack holders and including a support portionfor supporting the lowermost articles of the stacks of articles and acentral opening at least as large as the largest of the articles to bedispensed; and dispensing means for selectively withdrawing saidarticles one at time from said stack holders, said dispensing meanscomprising: a shuttle plate disposed below said vertical stacks andhaving a central opening at least as large as the largest of saidarticles, shuttle plate movement means for moving said shuttle plate ina plane below said support plate, and engagement means on said shuttleplate for selectively engaging a said lowermost article in a stackholder and conveying an engaged article to said central opening of saidsupport plate such that said engaged article drops through the centralopenings in said support plate and said shuttle plate.
 9. The dispensingmodule of claim 8, wherein support plate includes a plurality of slotstherein and said engagement means further comprises a like plurality ofselectively movable pins each of which, when moved to the operativeposition thereof, projects upwardly from said shuttle plate through asaid slot to engage a said article held in a said stack holder.
 10. Adispensing apparatus for articles, said apparatus comprising a pluralityof dispensing modules, and each of said dispensing module comprising: agenerally horizontal support plate having a central opening at least aslarge as the largest of said articles; a plurality of generally verticalstack holders disposed on said support plate for holding a stack of saidarticles,dispensing means for withdrawing articles from said stackholders and conveying articles withdrawn from said stack holders to saidcentral opening of said support plate such that the withdrawn articlesdrop through said opening of said support plate to thereby be dispensed;said plurality of said dispensing modules being disposed in stackedspaced relation to form at least a top level and a bottom level of saidmodules, and the central openings of the support plates of the modulesof said top level being positioned directly above the central openingsof the support plates of the modules of said bottom level such thatarticles dispensed form the top level modules fall through said centralopenings of the bottom level modules.
 11. The dispensing apparatus ofclaim 10, wherein said dispensing means comprises a shuttle platedisposed below, and parallel to, said support plate and having a centralopening at least as large as the largest of said articles, shuttle platemovement means for moving said shuttle plate in a plane generallyparallel with said support plate, and engagement means on said shuttleplate for selectively engaging articles held by said stack holders. 12.The dispensing apparatus of claim 11, wherein said supporting platefurther includes a plurality of slots extending in parallel from saidcentral opening of said support plate and said engagement means furthercomprises a plurality of selectively movable pins each of which, whenmoved to the operative position thereof, projects upwardly from saidshuttle plate through said slots of said support plate to engage a saidarticle in held by a said stack holder.